About us

The Coalition for the Homeless, one of the nation's oldest organizations helping homeless men, women, and children, is dedicated to the principle that in a civilized society every individual has a fundamental right to decent shelter, sufficient food, and the chance to work for a living wage. Callahan v. Carey, our first legal victory over the City of New York in 1981, guaranteed the bedrock right to shelter for all New Yorkers. That triumph helped broadcast our conviction that every homeless person – regardless of his or her level of turmoil – deserves to live with dignity and respect. Since then, the Coalition for the Homeless has fought for lasting solutions to the crisis of mass homelessness through litigation, advocacy, grassroots organizing, public education, and direct services. While the Coalition's advocacy efforts address the large-scale issues of homelessness and poverty, our direct service programs provide immediate, critical relief to more than 3,500 homeless New Yorkers every day.

In late 2003, the Coalition relocated its main administrative and client services center to an office building it purchased in lower Manhattan. In addition to the Coalition's offices, the building contains other non-profit tenants, including a 60-child day care center.